Photograph
by Caterina Sforza
Summary: The digidestined's final goodbyes to each other before they head out into the world. [Mimato.Michi]


Hey everyone! I wrote this one ages ago but I was too lazy to actually type it out :D I hated the ending of season 2! So this is my version of what I would have liked to happen! This fic is dedicated to all the people who have reviewed for my other fic The Mastery.

Ages:

Taichi: 19

Mimi: 18

Yamato: 19

Sora: 19

Jyou: 20

Koushiro: 18

Takeru: 16

Hikari: 16

Miyako: 17

Daisuke: 16

Ken: 17

Iori: 14

Yamato, Sora, Jyou and Taichi are starting university late here.

Disclaimer: I don't own digimon or Photograph by Nickelback or any of the songs, singers, bands or movies mentioned in this story.

Photograph 

_Look at this photograph_

_Every time I do it makes me laugh_

_How did our eyes get so red?_

_And what the hell is on Joey's head?_

This was the one of the most brilliant days of my life, the final good-bye to my friends. After this we were splitting up, going to different parts of the world to attend college, all chasing our dreams. This is it; we were going to become what we had dreamed of our entire lives. Me I wanted to become a rock star, I would attend college at Kyoto University with the rest of my band mates and then we would start touring. We've already been promised several record deals so our future was set. To everyone else theirs were set too. We had grown up so much; it was hard to believe that eight years ago we had been saving the digiworld. Gabumon I mused, my Digimon partner and one of my best friends. We were going to see him later and meet the rest of the digimon after we got to spend some time alone. He had made my life so wonderful and inspired me in so many ways, I can't imagine life without him. My friends had too, all of them were special to me and lit up my life.

_This is where I grew up_

_I think the present owner fixed it up_

_I never knew we ever went without _

_The second floor is hard for sneaking out_

We were all sitting in our favourite coffee shop in Odaiba. The eight original digidestined, Taichi, Mimi, Sora, Jyou, Koushiro, Takeru, Hikari and me, Yamato Ishida occupied the corner booth. Daisuke, Iori, Ken and Miyako would join us later when we were going to the digiworld. All of us except Takeru and Hikari would be saying our good-byes to them. I chuckled; we all knew whom Daisuke and Miyako would miss the most. Daisuke practically worshiped the ground Taichi walked on and Miyako would be in floods to see Mimi go. The whole coffee shop was filled with laughter as we remembered the good times that we had.

_This is where I went to school_

_Most of the time had better things to do_

_Criminal record says I broke in twice_

_ I must've done it half a dozen times_

Soon we were reminding ourselves about our school. It was so much fun, cutting classes, starting food fights, flirting with hot girls between classes but all of these were courtesy of my best friend Taichi. Taichi was the reason I landed up in the principal's office so many times. For Koushiro a.k.a the brain the years he spent at school were probably the best years of his life. I was also looking forward to leaving all those screaming girls behind (especially Jun). Soon, however I was going to become a rock star, I should get used to the mobs of screaming girls.

"Remember when we dared Iori to spray-paint all the lockers hot pink! The poor guy was so scared he almost shat himself!" laughed Takeru.

The rest of us burst out laughing. Hikari added as Taichi gave her a reproachful look, "he never got caught! That bitch, Himoki got blamed" she spat out that name with such venom. " I wonder how Chiba-sama got the idea that it was her."

"Maybe because we planted the spray-paint in her bag! We got two days off school because they needed to repaint the school" said Takeru.

"Remember when Mimi was caught making out with Hisato in the classroom closet and then we opened the door and they fell outright in front of the teacher." said Sora. Everyone including Mimi laughed though I felt a small pang of jealousy.

"Mimoko-san gave Hisato and I detention for a month!" cried Mimi. "I missed so many hair and nail appointments that month and I almost got kicked off the cheer-leading squad!" We all rolled our eyes, typical Mimi.

"Remember when Koushiro got ninety-one percent on one of his exams," said Taichi.

Sora giggled, "I had never seen him throw such a bad fit before in my life!"

Jyou smirked, "he almost threw his laptop out of the window."

"That ninety-one percent brought down my entire grade average!" whined Koushiro. " I would never through my precious laptop out of the window!" said Koushiro apparently horrified at the idea of parting with his precious.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join Koushiro and Koushiro's laptop on holy matrimony." I whispered to Taichi who started to laugh.

"Remember when Miyako tried to dye her hair pink like Mimi, I almost started crying from laughing so hard." Said Hikari.

"I have never seen such an unusual colour before" said Jyou with a grin as Mimi added, "I think Daisuke did actually start crying, they had to take him to the nurse's office after that." We all started laughing as we thought about Miyako's disastrous hair ventures.

_I wonder if it's too late_

_Should I go back and try to graduate _

_Life's better now than it was back then_

_If I was them I wouldn't let me in_

We all managed to get into the brilliant colleges we dreamed of. Koushiro was heading to Singapore to attend an engineering college, no surprise there. Jyou was going to London for medical school after working for a year as an intern in a hospital here. Sora was going to the American University of Paris; it had always been her dream to go to Paris. Taichi was making for China to work as an intern for a large automobile company. He was coming back to attend college in Tokyo University, maybe I could see him sometime. Mimi was going to New York to take a course in home science; she was hoping to become a chef. She had done so many modeling jobs when we were in high school that we all predicted that she would become a model, guess not. Takeru, Hikari, Miyako, Ken, Daisuke and Iori were staying here to complete high school. Maybe they would be having their own farewell party soon. All of them would soon go down their own paths to follow their own destinies just like us. I still couldn't believe that we all got into the colleges that we wanted. It was like a fairy-tale where everything seemed to be going right, a pleasant dream that I didn't want to wake from. It was hard to believe that all of us had got so lucky, but then who am I to knock on luck. All my friends had taught me so much about friendship. Love and life and I would truly never forget them.

_Every memory of looking out the back door_

_I had a photo album spread out on my bedroom floor_

_It's hard to say_

_It's time to say it_

_Goodbye, goodbye_

_Every memory of looking out the front door_

_I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for_

_It's hard to say_

_It's time to say it_

_Goodbye, goodbye_

Taichi then mentioned the crazy games of truth and dare that we used to play.

"We dared Koushiro to run down the streets singing 'I'm a Barbie girl.' He couldn't walk down that street for two months because he was known as Barbie boy there," remembered Jyou.

"Then we dared Mimi to give you a lap dance," Koushiro reminded him, making him go scarlet. He ducked behind his long blue hair as Mimi laughed.

"Taichi also dared Yamato to ask seven girls out on a date at one time," said Takeru.

"Sora, Mimi and Hikari shot Taichi disgusted looks. "Those poor girls!" muttered Mimi as the others nodded in agreement.

Jyou laughed, "I don't think they minded very much. They were still on cloud number nine on being asked out by 'the' Yamato Ishida. I don't think they cared much."

"Remember when we dared Sora and Mimi to pretend that they were lesbians," said Taichi with an evil smile. Sora and Mimi burst out of laughing. "I still think those old men are in shock," said Sora, " I will never forget the time the chased us away with their walking sticks!"

"Then we dared Takeru to buy twenty issues of Playboy," said Hikari.

"They wouldn't sell them to me! They said I was too young!" whined Takeru angrily, his blue eyes clouding over. I started laughing so hard that I couldn't breathe. I continued to crack up until Sora said, "shut up playboy."

"We also dared Ken and Miyako to play in the little kid's playground and chuck sand at all the adults!" I said.

"I don't think any of us will ever be allowed in that playground again," said Mimi

"We also got Iori to admit that his favourite movie was the Titanic and Ken to admit he cried during A Cinderella Story!" laughed Jyou. We all started to laugh; the image of Ken sobbing on Miyako's shoulder during an American Hillary Duff movie was just too much!

"Remember when Daisuke dared Mimi and Taichi to go swimming naked in the baby pool!" said Sora.

"A little kid came and found us! His mother was mortified, I think she would have died on the spot if we hadn't run away!" said Taichi as we cracked up.

"Hikari also dared Daisuke to eat twenty-five boxes of Raman. I don't think I've seen anyone eat so much Raman in my life!" said Koushiro

"What about me?" asked Taichi as we laughed.

"Daisuke will eat anything, remember when Sora dared to dunk a doughnut in the toilet and then eat it!" I said.

"Sora was also dared to steal a dress off a mannequin and put Taichi's old clothes on it," laughed Hikari.

"Mimi also dared big brother to go to Jelly boy (A/N: a shop that sells lingerie) and ask them if they had an E-cup for his girlfriend!" said Takeru.

"We also dared Hikari and Takeru to make out in front of the camera in the mall," said Jyou

"I think Daisuke started crying!" exclaimed Koushiro

"Nothing beats Sora admitting that she sometimes kisses the mirror," laughed Mimi.

"No… That's more your style Meems," said Taichi as Mimi stuck her Tongue out at him. We all paused as our goggle-headed leader sighed, "those were good times."

We all silently agreed, I would give anything just to play truth and dare with my friends everyday again. It wasn't as if I wasn't going to see them ever again. Things just wont be the same; not going to the same school as them, hanging out at their houses after school, going to the beach or for picnics with them…

_Remember the old arcade_

_Blew every dollar that we ever made_

_The cops hated us hanging out_

_They say somebody went and burned it down._

"Remember our annual sleep-over," I said as the others nodded and smiled. Our parents didn't mind boys and girls sleeping over together; they knew how close we were. We would always have so much fun, watching movies, singing, talking and dancing till four in the morning. The best was karaoke night. We would all get together and go to the karaoke bar down the road once a month. We would sing hilarious songs, our favourite being 'I like big butts.' We would usually sing duets; the most popular pair was Mimi and I because we were the best looking pair and the most talented (singing-wise). Taichi were awesome with their hilarious rap songs. Sora and Hikari would belt out Kelly Clarkson while Jyou and Ken would sing the blues. Miyako and Takeru would sing to West life and Blue. I have never heard such gay songs in my life but I guess Miyako forced Takeru into it. Koushiro and Iori sang to Iron maiden and the Rasmus (not really karaoke songs but it was funny to see two of the quietest people ever belting out rock and heavy metal).

_We used to listen to the radio_

_And sing along with every song we'd know_

_We said someday we'd find out how it feels_

_To sing to more than just a steering wheel. _

I loved singing and being in a band, it allowed me to express myself in my songs. We were really popular and soon the whole world will know who we are.

Hikari interrupted my train of thought by addressing me, "so mister rock star, are you going to become one of those millionaire-playboys? I hope you wont forget us little people on your climb to fame," she said clutching her heart dramatically.

I winked at her, "sure Hikari just to show you how much I care about you, when I'm rich and famous I'll give you a million bucks."

"What about me?" whined Mimi.

"Okay, one million to you too," I said nodding at her. She settled back against Taichi with a wide grin on her face. Taichi wrapped on arm around her shoulder. I felt slightly sick inside as I felt another stab of jealousy.

_Kim's the first girl I kissed_

_I was so nervous that I nearly missed_

_She's had a couple of kids since then_

_I haven't seen since god knows when._

Mimi and Taichi were one of the strangest couples ever; I guess they were just lonely at the same time. Mimi had just had a messy break-up with her boyfriend Ginji and Taichi was still moping over the fact that Sora and I had gotten together. I had asked him a hundred times whether he was okay with it but he had insisted that he was completely over her, but I knew better. Now, however I could tell just by looking at his face he was completely happy.

He found Mimi crying on a bench on the park one day. She had just found out that Ginji had been cheating on her. He comforted her and they went for coffee together. They just clicked after that and were almost inseparable now. Everyone thinks they are perfect for each other; their personalities suit each other's well. Though now for some strange reason I was starting to feel jealous of Taichi. When Mimi turned sixteen she returned to Odaiba and started attending school here. It was great to have her back; all the boys especially thought it was great to have her back. I guess I always liked Mimi but I never admitted it to anyone or to myself. After our mutual break-up, Sora and I begun to date again but I only had eyes for Mimi.

_Every memory of looking out the back door_

_I had a photo album spread out on my bedroom floor_

_It's hard to say_

_It's time to say it_

_Goodbye, goodbye_

_Every memory of looking out the front door_

_I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for_

_It's hard to say_

_It's time to say it_

_Goodbye, goodbye_

Jyou and Sora started shifting out of their seats, Taichi and Takeru followed suit. Mimi nudged me and I snapped out of my daydream. She gave me a sunny smile, "come on dreamer," she whispered.

I got out of my seat and followed Koushiro to the door as Jyou and Taichi settled the bill. We walked down the road and headed to the High School. The school was still open, which I was thankful for; I was getting tired of creeping up a window. Mimi pulled put her hairpin lock-pick just in case. Ken, Miyako, Daisuke and Iori came around the corner, they gestured to us and we followed them to the computer room. Miyako opened the digigate and one by one we followed her into the digiworld.

"Agumon," called Taichi.

"Biyamon, come out wherever you are," called Sora.

"Wormon," called Ken.

"Come on Hawkmon," called Miyako.

I waited patiently as everyone called out to his or her Digimon. We heard a soft fluttering noise as Patamon came flying towards Takeru.

"Takeru! Takeru!" he cried.

"Patamon!" cried Takeru joyfully. He reached over and gave his winged-friend a hug. A bush started shaking and Gatomon and Palmon crept put of it. Mimi and Hikari let out squeals and ran over to greet their digimon partners. The rest of the Digimon arrived but not Gabumon. I passed Koushiro hugging Tentomon and Iori with Armadillomon. A Digimon with a blue and white fur coat stepped out from behind a tree. He glanced around and then spotted me, his eyes lighting up. I caught his eye and tears welled up in mine.

"Gabumon," I whispered. There stood the Digimon who helped me my entire life. He inspired me with my music and helped me realise my dream of being a professional musician. His loyalty to me was touching if not admirable, he's stuck by me through good and bad, when I ran away from the rest of the group he stuck by my decision. He even fought Agumon when I asked him to. He encouraged my relationship with Sora but was quick to point out Taichi's hurt feelings. Through him, I became more self-confident, no longer shying away from the world. He was the only one I told about my mysterious feelings for the pink-princess. He understood completely but he reminded me to tread carefully as she was Taichi's girlfriend and I had already taken from him once. His presence was good enough to make me feel great. I reached over and pulled him into a hug, even though I knew it was sort of weird and gay I felt warm inside.

_I miss that town_

_I miss their faces_

_You can't erase_

_You can't replace it_

_I miss it now_

_I can't believe it_

_So hard to stay_

_Too hard to leave it_

_If I could relive those days _

_I know one thing that would never change. _

Friendship, my crest and the one thing I valued above others in life. I don't know where I would be without my friends. I looked around at my friends playing with their Digimon. I silently uttered a prayer, thanking god for putting me on this earth with such wonderful people. I also thanked god for giving me a chance to go to the digiworld and meet Gabumon. I gave my friends a smile and caught Taichi's eye. He gave me a quick smile and walked over to Mimi. I saw him talk to her and she nodded along with him. He looked down with a serious expression on his face and she was no longer smiling. Mimi said something, he nodded and a look of relief passed over his face. He reached over and gave her a hug. He buried his face in her hair. I gulped as I saw her a pull away. She smiled up at him and said something and he nodded. They both turned around, Mimi reached over to grip Palmon's hand and they walked through a bush and out of sight. Taichi went over and sat down on a rock. He looked pretty sad, I was going to walk over to him but Gabumon nudged me.

"Go," he said pointing to the direction that Mimi went in. I gave a worried glance to Taichi but Jyou and Agumon were already talking to him. So I walked in the direction that Mimi went. I pushed through the bushes and found Mimi sitting near a gushing river. I could see a tear silently rolling down her cheek as she talked quietly to Palmon. I walked over to her and Palmon quietly nudged her. She turned her tear-streaked face towards me.

"Konnichiwa Yamato-kun," she said quietly.

"Konnichiwa Mimi-chan, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Taichi and I broke up. It was mutual; we both agreed that we didn't want a long-distance relationship. He agreed with me when I said I didn't want him to hold back because of me if he met someone special in Tokyo or China. Here we are going into the next stages of our lives and it would be unfair on both of us if we met our special some bodies and we couldn't be with them because of each other. I didn't want to hold him down and neither did he. I will still love him but now as a friend. He will always be there for me and I for him. If we meet later and I still harbour feelings for him, I will try to get back together with him but for now I feel its better if we both play the field a bit. We are still young and there is a whole world to explore, we need to meet new people and live life to the fullest. Taichi helped me out in a hard part in my life and so to him I am grateful and always will be. I will miss him so much. I know this break-up was mutual but I can't help feeling sad, he did so much for me," said Mimi sadly.

I pulled her into my arms and she began sobbing on my shoulder. "I think I will leave you guys alone for a while," said Palmon shuffling her feet. I nodded at her and she fled through the bushes.

"Its okay Meems, come on," I said as I wiped away a tear from her face. I don't know what it is that attracted me to Tachikawa Mimi, her cheerful personality? Was it her ability to light up an entire room with her beautiful smile? It was like she completed her cheerful one and my sarcastic personality. When she smiled at me, it was like everything was okay in the world. She had so much confidence in herself yet she had an air of vulnerability around her that attracted her to me. She had so many endearing qualities, her sincerity, her caring personality that made me feel at home with her. She felt so frail in my arms, she was so beautiful and her laugh made you want to smile every time you heard it. When her beautiful caramel eyes met yours you felt so warm inside. Her hair was so soft, long and beautiful and I felt like melting under her caring touch. She doesn't even know it yet but I would do anything for her. My love for her was so great, I saw her as an almost-goddess put on this earth to make everyone else feel great inside. Her personality was enchanting and she could keep you entertained for hours with her sparkling conversation. Sure she had flaws but that only made her seem human, a mortal with in my reach not a goddess too far away to meet.

She went quiet in my arms and I pulled her closer to me. She looked up at me, "arigato Yama-kun, you have been a great help," she whispered.

I looked down at her; she didn't break my gaze but looked deep into my azure-blue eyes. I reached down, a hypnotic force pulling me closer and closer to her. Finally my lips met hers in the perfect kiss, salty tears mixing her sweet taste. I felt a warm rush and I pulled her closer. Her body pushed against mine as the kiss became more passionate. All my feelings for her came pouring out into this long awaited kiss.

_Every memory of looking out the back door_

_I had a photo album spread out on my bedroom floor_

_It's hard to say_

_It's time to say it_

_Goodbye, goodbye_

_Every memory of looking out the front doo_r 

_I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for_

_It's hard to say_

_It's time to say it_

_Goodbye, goodbye._

"Mimi-chan," called Sora, Miyako and Hikari. We quickly sprung apart as the girls came bursting through the bushes. I saw Sora giving me a strange look but all the girls surrounded Mimi. "We just heard Mimi-chan, you don't have to be afraid to cry."

Mimi smiled at them, "thanks girls but I'm fine now thanks to Yamato." All three pairs of eyes snapped towards me. I felt hot under their gaze so I got up, "Mimi I think I better get going now," I said.

She smiled at me, "thanks again Yamato." I trudged through the bushes as all the girls began to talk at once. I came out to find Daisuke and Ken talking to Taichi. I walked up to him and sat down next to my best friend as the others left. I didn't have to say anything.

"It hurt me so much to say goodbye to her, but it was the right thing to do," said Taichi looking at the ground. "She was always there for me and helped me so much when I was so depressed. I really loved her you know? It was the right thing to do," he said repeating himself. He looked up and then he turned to face me for the first time. "You already spoke to her, right? Then you know the whole story. I cant help but feel sad about letting her go, she still means a lot to me," he said.

It was probably one of the few times I had ever seen Taichi so serious before in my life. He had really grown up and Mimi had helped him with that. It seemed that he was no longer the immature playboy I used to know. I felt so proud of him for doing the right thing, for both him and Mimi. I put my arm around him and he smiled. I got up and headed for Gabumon but Palmon blocked my way.

The little plant-Digimon hugged my legs and whispered, "thank you for what you have done for Mimi." I was at a loss at what to say so I bent down in level with Palmon and pulled her into a hug.

Mimi, Miyako, Sora and Hikari came through the bushes and smiled at us. "Come on guys, we have to take a picture," said Hikari.

We all grouped together, Daisuke picked up Veemon and put him on his shoulders that caused Gomamon to complain loudly. We all laughed and Hikari put the camera on a countdown timer. She hurried forward and stood between Sora and Takeru. I felt Mimi shift closer to me so I put my arm around her waist.

"Everyone say cheese!" yelled Daisuke. We all called out "Cheese" to the camera as it flashed.

_Look at this photograph_

_Every time I do it makes me laugh_

_Every time I do it makes me laugh._

We all laughed and chattered as we headed to the digigate. I hugged Gabumon and cried as I said goodbye to him. He wished me good luck in university and I promised I would visit him when I come back to Odaiba. I watched as all my friends and my brother said goodbye to their Digimon partners, the younger digidestined promising to visit tomorrow. Taichi, Mimi, Sora, Koushiro, Jyou, Hikari, Takeru, Miyako, Ken, Iori and Daisuke, who needed all the wealth in the world if you had these people to light up your life. I glanced at Mimi as she stepped through the digigate. I touched my lips; I could still feel her soft ones pressing against my own. This wasn't a kiss for new beginnings, Mimi was right; we are still young, this was a goodbye kiss. I would still see my friends when I came back to visit Odaiba, at digidestined reunions (we were planning to have these frequently) and at each other's weddings (hopefully). Till then goodbye my friends, goodbye Mimi.

A/N: well what do you think? Be honest in you reviews! (Okay just don't be too honest ;) and whatever you do don't forget to leave one!). Please be nice and leave a review, you know how that's done! Thanks.


End file.
